Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Chatrini Weeratunge named an Asia 21 Young Leader by Asia Society

-

Chatrini Weeratunge has been named an Asia 21 Young Leader by the Asia Society and will be part of a pre-eminent network of young leaders from across the Asia Pacific, representi­ng the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.

An internatio­nal developmen­t specialist and photograph­er, Chatrini has nearly a decade of experience working on issues such as internatio­nal trade and investment policy, gender, education, and corporate social responsibi­lity. She has undertaken lead roles in policy advocacy, research, and programme management, working with UNDP, UNOPS, IISD, the Asia Foundation, and in the corporate sector. Combining her passion for human rights advocacy with her artistic talents, Chatrini uses photograph­y to highlight issues such as child abuse and gender inequality.

Asia 21 Young Leaders are selected through a highly competitiv­e process based on outstandin­g achievemen­t, commitment to public service, and a proven ability to make the world a bet- ter place. The 32 young leaders who make up the Asia 21 Class of 2015 represent 22 countries and are divided almost evenly between men and women. Fifty percent work in the private sector, 44 percent in the nonprofit sector, and 6 percent in the public sector.

“We welcome this passionate group to the Asia 21 family, and look forward to the contributi­ons they make to the public good in the coming years,”said Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran.

Chatrini joins a powerful network of Asia 21 alumni - proven leaders from across the region representi­ng a variety of profession­al background­s, who will serve as mentors and potential collaborat­ors. The Asia 21 network includes rising political figures – Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV (Philippine­s); Minister of Culture and Primary and Secondary Education Anies Baswedan (Indonesia); Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (United States); Minister for Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin (Malaysia) – prominent media personalit­ies – NDTV journalist Barkha Dutt (India); Herald Corporatio­n Chairman Ryan Hong (South Korea); Zebra Media Founder and CEO Scarlett Li (China); and Moby Group Chairman Saad Mohseni(Afghanista­n) – award-winning journalist­s and filmmakers – Maziar Bahari (Iran); Nitin Das (India); Sharmeen ObaidChino­y(Pakistan) – and private sector leaders –Head of Asia Capital Markets & Financing at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Soofian Zuberi (Pakistan).

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Sri Lanka